Life After Danger
by bodyandsoul
Summary: Our fave four supernaturals try to settle back into some sort of normal life after a year on the run. Co-written with my cousin Briee :
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Greetings all! So, at long last, here is the beginning of a multi-fic collaborative effort with my cousin, on here as Briee (she rocks the James and Lily stuff, for those who are interested). We'll each be writing five of the projected ten chapters, and I pulled the honor of the first. We'll be updating once a week, so keep your eyes peeled! **

**Now, just a quick note on the setting: This is set about a year after The Reckoning, and our fave four (plus adults) have spent the last year hunting down the other supernaturals on their list, informing them of the Edison Group's nefarious deeds, and so on. A few weeks before this story begins, Chloe finally called her dad and ended up deciding to go home. Kit and the boys have bought a house not too far away, and Tori is staying with Aunt Lauren for the moment. Oh, and how could I forget? The remaining Edison Group employees ended up being executed by the Cabal, who know where the teens are, but "have bigger fish to fry" for the moment. Besides, I personally think they're hoping to get some little necromancing werewolves to study if they hang back for a while... Well, that and they're interested in seeing what'll happen with the enhanced powers before they make any more decisions, so they're more or less safe for the moment. Annnnnnnnyways, any other details should be made clear throughout the story (I hope!). Reviews would be most welcome, and I'll forward the reviews that pertain to my cousin's chapters to her. Enjoy!**

Disclaimer: We are cousins who have too much free time on our hands and a borderline obsessive love for good supernatural fiction. We do this for fun, we don't make any money off of this and we are mostly definitely NOT Kelley Armstrong, though we do thank her profusely for creating such lovely characters for us to toy with. :)

My first day back at A.R. Gurney started off badly.

I have never been an early riser, but for the last year I've found it tolerable. I have gotten used to waking up slowly, snuggled up to my very own personal space heater, then lingeringly kissed and tucked back in for a bit more sleep as my space heater heads off to make it look like he'd actually spent the night in his own bed.

Not anymore.

For the first time in over a year I woke up in my luxurious, down-filled queen-sized bed and immediately regretted ever coming back. My room had been tastefully re-decorated by my dad's usual interior designer, Carol, in my absence. She had gone for urban teen chic, lots of shades of gray with some vaguely menacing patterned wallpaper and a black satin bedspread. I hated it, but I'd never tell him that. He had been so excited when I had finally come home.

I would have rather woken up in yet another motel room, squished into a rock-hard double bed with Derek, kissing silently in the watery dawn light with Tori snoring in the bed nearby. But no, I'd begged Aunt Lauren to help me call my dad. With my usual impeccable timing, I had managed to call on one of the few days he was home and actually picked up. The sheer joy in his voice when I said hello and the subsequent sobs absolutely broke my heart into a million pieces, and I knew I had to go home.

"Chloe!" Annette pounded on my bedroom door again, and I flashed instantly back to the last time she'd done that. My last normal day. "You're going to be late!"

Frankly, I'd rather never see that school again, but they had kindly held my spot for the past year, and accepted Simon as a mid-year transfer. It wouldn't be that bad. Right?

Somehow I managed to whip through my morning routine in only fifteen minutes, marvelling the whole time at how ordinary it seemed. It was like all the insanity I've been through was a dream. Even just thinking that made my stomach hurt. Derek, Simon, Tori and their dad (even though Tori still doesn't know) are my family now. Rae felt like family, too, family who was still MIA; we still hadn't been able to track her down. Jacinda had really gone to ground with her daughter.

Liz is family, too, finally resting in peace on the other side. She'd helped us find all the others, helped us escape from the Cabal when they otherwise would have caught us and kept my spirits up with her usual good humour when all I wanted to do was cry. I miss her so much, but she needed to cross over. She deserved a peaceful afterlife.

Annette was grumbling about not being paid to cook, but she had a piece of toast and a bottle of orange juice waiting on the counter as I flew by, yanking my hair back into a ponytail, my backpack clinging bravely to the very edge of my shoulder.

"Mario's waiting by the curb," she informed me, her rear in the air as she plugged in the vacuum cleaner. "Have a good first day back."

The toast was finished by the time I slid into the car, still trying to shake that creepy feeling that nothing had changed, that I was still fifteen year old Chloe on the morning that I got my period for the first time.

"Chloe! How are you?" Mario was as cheerful as always. We chatted about movies on the drive in, and I wondered how my dad had explained my disappearance to them. I bit my lip. Did everyone think I'd been in a mental institution all this time? That I was crazy for a while? My lip let out a throb of protest and I realized that I had drawn blood.

"Ouch, you're bleeding." Handing over a Kleenex, Mario looked concerned. "You worried about your first day back?"

I nodded, pressing the tissue to my lip, staring out the window, half expecting to see that little boy again, darting out into traffic. But luck was with me this morning, and we made it to the school without any ghost sightings.

Luck was still with me as I got out of the car, slinging my backpack over my shoulder as I slammed the door. Mario waved and darted back out into traffic. I was still standing there with my hand raised when something whacked me in the back.

Instincts kicked in and I spun around, reaching into my pocket for the switchblade I no longer carried.

Simon backed away, both hands in the air. "Whoa, easy there, killer." His grin was familiar and instantly made me feel better.

Straightening from my defensive crouch I scowled, aware that I was starting to act more and more like Derek. "Serves you right, sneaking up on me like that." My relief combined with the sharp tingle of adrenaline made me sound angrier than I was. In truth, I was really glad to see Simon, glad to see that my weird feeling of the past few months being a dream was just my imagination. Overcome, I bounded forward and threw my arms around him. "I'm so glad to see you!"

He squeezed me back and then eased away, looking a little confused by my abrupt mood swing. "I'm glad to see you, too. Derek's been impossible since we dropped you off on Friday."

I hoped to hear his low voice behind me, arguing, "Have not," but it seemed like Simon was the only brother at A.R. Gurney this morning.

Simon pulled a schedule from his bag. "Alright, so where's this classroom?"

With a decent start to my day, I'd honestly thought the rest of it would be fine. I was wrong. My old friends stared and whispered, and the teachers who had been there when I freaked out, screaming about melted custodians eyed me like they were expecting a repeat. I had spent the last year reasoning that no one knew what had happened to me, that my brief stay at Lyle House would remain private.

Well, no one knew the name of the place, but everyone had heard about my freak out, had seen me carried out, sedated, into the waiting ambulance and had figured my dad had paid for the best and most private mental hospital money could buy.

So now, instead of blending in like I had before, I was the crazy girl, the mental case, the schizo who claimed to see dead people. Although I wasn't sure if people knew that it was dead people. Not that it made any difference. Thank God for Simon. He was in almost all of my classes and I'm pretty sure it was only his persistent presence that kept the morbidly curious away.

I was exhausted when I finally staggered out the front door, Simon chattering beside me, but I perked up when he lifted an arm, waving at a grey sedan parked in the lot.

"Derek?" I asked without too much hope. For all I knew Kit was picking him up.

"Yeah," he answered and my temple-pounding headache eased immediately. If Derek was here, everything would be alright.

When we were nearly at the car, a group passed us and I heard someone make a comment about me. Derek was out of the driver's seat before I could blink and he only stopped when he was wrapping me up in his arms protectively, glaring bloody murder at the girl in question.

Apparently she didn't interpret it as such, because from behind Derek's bicep I saw her eyes run over him appraisingly, clearly liking what she saw. _Too bad for you_, I thought. _He's mine_.

And he was. After kissing me soundly, to the tune of Simon's fake gags, we piled into the car and I felt my muscles finally start to relax.

"Do I want to know how your day was?" Derek asked, reversing out of the spot. I didn't miss the way he looked into the review mirror for a second too long and I turned around fast enough to catch the tail end of a headshake from Simon.

"Traitor," I muttered, crossing my arms, then raised my voice to a normal level. "It was fine. Can we talk about something else? How was orientation?"

Derek had finished up his high school credits through homeschooling while we'd been bouncing from motel to motel, even taking the federal exams, so he had decided to start his college degree at a local community college until Simon and I graduated. I'd tried to talk him into taking one of the scholarships he'd been offered, but he'd refused, saying something about not being able to leave his Pack, which I still didn't totally understand.

He filled us in as we drove to the house that Kit had bought on the outskirts of town, where the houses were further apart and Derek had easier access to quiet parks and wooded areas. Pulling into the driveway, he waited for Simon to hop out before lifting a hand in farewell and heading back onto the street to take me home.

Home. Home, where my dad wasn't and where Annette would have finished for the day and left supper in the fridge. As much as that used to be home for me, it was different now. The motels felt more like home because that's where my family was. It was a relief to know I wouldn't be eating alone tonight.

When we were finally in the condo, I dumped my bag by the door and wandered into the kitchen, sure that Derek was starving as usual. He dogged my heels, obviously intrigued by my bee-line to the fridge. I hadn't been back for long, so he was still getting used to the condo, amazed and slightly disgusted that my father had received me home with open arms and left on a trip to Bangkok the next morning, trusting Aunt Lauren to make sure I was settled and had anything I needed for school.

Speaking of Aunt Lauren…I made a quick phone call while Derek ducked into the bathroom, reassuring her that my first day had gone well (a lie) and that I had food in the fridge for supper (not a lie) and that I wasn't lonely and in need of company (definitely not a lie). She was still a little protective, but she'd definitely relaxed when she saw how well Derek looked out for me. Besides, I had an uber-powerful witch for a best friend and two sorcerers a phone call away.

"I'll be fine," I assured her yet again, smiling apologetically at Derek as he came back into the kitchen. Wrapping up took another minute, so I started handing him sandwich fixings from the cold-cut drawer while he rummaged one-handed for bread and mayo to start making us some sandwiches. Finally I ended the call and tossed my cell on the counter with a sigh.

"I've been thinking," he said and I shot him a wide-eyed look.

"Well, that's not good."

"Quiet, you," he growled, pausing to drop a quick kiss on my nose. "I've been thinking that we should go out."

My knife still in the mayo jar, I paused and looked up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"It'll be our anniversary soon."

Wow. After all the jokes I'd heard about men and their terrible memories for things like that, I was impressed. Frankly, I hadn't really given it much thought.

"Mmhmm."

"And we've still never been on a real date."

"A date?" I laid the bread down and turned to him, abandoning the sandwich for the moment. "You want to go out on a date?"

His shoulders hunched a little. "You deserve a nice night out, like a _normal_ couple."

Ah. That word again. Funny he should bring that up.

"I see." Normal seemed like a foreign concept.

He stopped his sandwich building to turn and face me, his face curiously blank.

"So do you want to go?"

I studied him for a moment. "Of course. That's a really sweet idea, Derek. Thank you."

Relaxing, he met my eyes and I slipped my arms around his waist, stepping closer until I was pressed against him. "Did you think I would say no?"

A shrug. "I didn't know if you'd want to go out in public with me. I'm still not totally in control of the Changes."

I looked up into his face, resting my chin against his chest. "You never will be, Derek. You can't control everything."

It was an old argument, and one that I was completely willing to let slide for the moment as he bent to deliver another kiss to my nose that shifted down to my lips and lingered for a few minutes. _Sandwiches be damned_, I thought, but then his stomach rumbled and I laughed, pulling away.

"Let's get you fed so I can ravish you later," I teased, handing him a plate.

"Sounds good," he replied, already biting into a half even as he walked to the table. "So we're on for a date?"

"Yup."

When he'd finished his pre-supper snack, I intercepted him on the way to the sink to rinse the dishes and dragged him into the living room.

"What are you doing?" he asked, following in confusion.

"We're really, truly alone for the first time in months. Do the math."

A brow quirked as a slow smile formed. "Ah. Alone time."

I grinned, my hands sinking into his hair as his gathered me onto his lap. "Finally."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Hey there Darkest Powers fans! I'm Briee, bodyandsoul's cousin. So I've been roped into writing this fic (just kidding… I am really excited about this project!), and I plan on doing my best. You'll probably notice a tiny difference in writing styles, but hey, it's all good. Just review to this story and I'll get the reviews forwarded to me by my cousin. I hope you guys enjoy our collaboration and if this goes well, maybe there will be another one in the future! **

**A/N from bodyandsoul: aaaaaaaaand if you're nice fanfic readers and review lots and lots, there's a big ole glass of LEMONade in it for you…most likely a oneshot and an elaboration of one of the scenes covered in the multichapter fic. So if you're like me and like LEMONade of the Chlerek variety, R-E-V-I-E-W! :P**

Derek promised to take me on a "'normal" date, but he also refused to tell me what he had planned. I had to acknowledge that Derek often had left me out of plans to figure everything out on his own, so this wasn't new.

While I was at school, I received a text from Derek telling me that he was going to pick me up at 6 and that I didn't need to dress up. At least I knew we weren't going somewhere fancy, although picturing Derek in a suit and tie was a fun image to conjure up.

Once home, I went through my closet to find something suitable to wear on a first real date. I could see why some girls decided to go out and buy something new; everything I pulled out seemed unacceptable.

In a moment of weakness, I almost wished Tori was here so I could ask her opinion on my outfit. My mirror only showed me what I was wearing but couldn't tell me if it was good enough or not. Tori can't keep an opinion to herself if her life depended on it.

By the time 6 rolled around, I was ready for my date. Just as I finished putting on my shoes, there was a buzz at the door. Peeking out of the peephole, a habit I wasn't about to lose anytime soon, I smiled. Derek stood there looking a little uncomfortable.

I unchained the door and opened it, giving Derek a smile. "Hey."

He returned the grin. "Hey. You ready?"

I nodded and grabbed my purse. I stepped out into the hallway, locking my door behind me. Derek took me in his arms for a sweet kiss before letting me go.

We got into the car and Derek started driving. I wasn't sure if he knew where he was going, but I didn't ask. Rather, I didn't want to know; I was content sitting in the car and letting Derek drive me to the unknown destination.

Finally, he turned into the parking lot for a movie theatre.

"We're going to see a movie?" A grin broke out onto my face. "I can't remember the last time I went to the movies."

"It's kinda difficult to go to the movies if you're on the run."

After Derek parked, we walked into the theatre. We stood in line for tickets, but the line was slow moving. Up ahead, there was a group of teens arguing about the movie they were going to see.

Finally, we got our tickets. The movie Derek had chosen was one I hadn't heard of before, but then again, I hadn't been keeping up to date on the new releases. It didn't, however, involve anything with supernatural creatures or elements. It looked like some sort of comedy with an actor whose name tickled a part of my brain.

As we stood in line for popcorn, Derek and I chatted about what we wanted to get. But a few minutes turned into ten and we had only moved by a couple people. The concession worker looked like a trainee, taking longer to serve our line. Eventually, he got to us, but I could see Derek's patience wearing thin.

We got out food and hustled into the line to get into cinema 4. The man tearing up the tickets gave me a funny look. I couldn't interpret it, but it must have been between a "you don't look old enough to be going to see a 14A film" or a "what's a pretty girl like you doing with a guy like him?". Even though Derek's acne has somewhat cleared up and his hair no longer looked greasy after he showered, he still looked menacing and awkward; I knew Derek was thinking the same thing by the scowl on his face.

Instead of being bothered by the guy's look, I slipped my hand into Derek's. He looked down and smiled at me before leading me in the theatre.

The previews had already started so we had to carefully find a seat in the dark. I was glad for Derek's night vision, but it didn't help me in the least. I had to carefully step and make sure I didn't trip on the lip of the steps. Finally, we sat down, just as the film began.

Unfortunately, throughout the film, that group of teenagers that had been arguing about which film to see where now loudly critiquing.

"Ugh, look at that! So ugly."

"Dude, this shit is so funny."

"Look at that chick. I would bang her."

I could see Derek's fists bunch up and I had to pry open his hand. I placed my palm in his. I had a feeling he wanted to say something but we both knew that it would probably do more harm than good. Luckily, the couple behind us shushed them.

By the time we walked out of the cinema, Derek was stressed and I could see his shoulders were tense. I was afraid of any little thing setting him off. He had been a bit on edge these days.

Suddenly, I was pushed from behind and I stumbled.

"Watch where you're going!" I said when I caught myself before falling.

The group of teens barrelled past without even noticing they had hit me.

Next to me, Derek suddenly growled.

"Derek…"

I gripped his arm and I felt the muscle beneath it spasm. It was a ripple and I had seen his skin do that more times than I wanted to count.

"Chloe, let me go."

"No. You're going to change. We need to get out of here." I mustered as much importance into the sentences as I could.

"I have time to go get those assholes and get them to apologize."

"I don't want a sorry. I just want to get out of here before you become a wolf."

Another spasm ran through his arm and I could see a bead of sweat run down his face.

"Okay, fine." He led me around the building, towards the stretch of forest that was near by.

Derek paced in the forest like he was trying to wear in a new trail. His face was drawn tight in concentration. His ears shifted from human to wolf over and over and I could see little hairs forming on his hands.

"Derek, stop trying to control your Change," I said, sitting on a log a few feet away from him. "Just let it happen."

He didn't say anything. He kept up with his pacing. Another spasm rolled through him.

"Stop being so obnoxious and just change already!" I sighed. This wasn't the way I was hoping our date would end. I thought maybe we'd go out, have some fun and then he'd drive me home. Maybe he would come inside and we could have some kissing time.

Instead, I was sitting on a mildly damp log waiting for my boyfriend to change into a werewolf. What fun.

Derek's face shifted and a muzzle began forming. A muscle spasm brought him to his knees. He grunted as he fell.

"You might want to take off your clothes before you rip them to shreds. I would rather not have to walk a naked you back to the car."

A small chuckle was cut short by a groan. "Eager to see me naked again?"

"Yes Derek, I live for the times when you are in pain and your bones are resetting themselves just so I can catch a glimpse of your hot naked body." It would have been hard to put anymore sarcasm into my comment.

Another soft laugh followed by a groan. This time, the groan was more canine like. As he took off his shirt, I heard him say, "If you wanted to see my body, all you had to do was ask." His pants came off next.

Fur sprouted and I could see his ears changing. But Derek was still trying to control the change.

"Derek, just stop controlling it. Let the change happen. It'll make it easier."

"You don't know that," he responded before a moan of pain passed his lips.

Part of me wanted to go and help him, but part of me was also frustrated with him. Every time he changed, he tried to force himself to stay human. I had to wonder if his pain wouldn't be so great if he just went along with what was happening to him. Surely other werewolves wouldn't keep the race going if the pain was so unbearable.

"Chloe…" his voice was nearly a growl.

His eyes held pain and I knew he wanted me to go to him.

"Will you stop fighting?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he looked to the ground as the heaves caught him.

Suddenly, he exploded out of his skin and in his place stood a wolf. Derek's wolf. _My_ wolf.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Alright people, here's another one of my (Briee) chapters. We ended with Derek exploding out of his skin. Now we gotta deal with the repercussions. Yay! Review please and thank you!**

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As Derek shook himself out, I had to admit I was captivated by his wolf form. As a wolf, Derek was sleek and elegant. And although he still looked menacing, I knew that he was still the same old Derek.

He moved close to me but I didn't get off my perch. I wasn't impressed with the way he acted before, but guilt started in me. I should have helped him. It's what a good girlfriend did.

Instead, I stared into his eyes and hoped he could understand.

Derek's attention was broken when a twig snapped to his left but upon sniffing the air, he deemed whatever it was not important.

"Go run. Get your energy out."

He took one last look at me before trotting off in a direction, his nose to the ground.

I wasn't sure how long it was that I was sitting on the log. It was a little damp and I was starting to get cold. Derek ran past me a few times, slowing to make sure I was alright before picking up the pace.

Finally, I saw him running back into the clearing we were in. His tongue was out of his mouth and it made him look like an over sized dog instead of a wolf. He hesitantly made his way to me and when I didn't object, he came close enough to touch me. His nose nudged my hand. Automatically I placed it on his fur and I could feel my hand warming up.

Forgetting I was frustrated with him, I brought him closer and buried my hands and face in his fur. "Why do you do this to me?" I asked him, my words muffled by his fur.

He snorted and I couldn't decipher what he meant. I probably wouldn't want to know.

Finally, I felt him fidget beneath me. His muscles rolled and I knew he was about to Change back. I let go of him and he sniffed out his pants.

Another spasm and he rushed behind a bush. I heard him whimper and my heart hurt. I wanted to go help him.

I got up from my log and rushed to the bush he was behind. His fur was retreating and his snout was slowly turning back into a nose and mouth. I sat next to him and rubbed his back. His eyes turned to me and I swore I could see the "Thank you" in them.

His bones started cracking and rearranging themselves. Even though I had heard it before, it still made me shiver; I could only imagine the pain Derek was in. His limbs turned in unnatural positions before righting themselves.

Derek was becoming more and more human, his canine features slowly disappearing. His paws and claws turned to hands and fingers. His groans changed and he heaved a few times. I was grateful that the vomiting stage was over with, but I knew I should probably not count my blessings before the Change was over.

Finally, Derek lay on his stomach, his back rising and falling with his breath. I have to admit I stole a glance at his fit bum but remembering why I could see it made me feel a little embarrassed about the whole thing.

There was silence between us for a few minutes as I continued to rub his back.

"K, I'm good. Can you go grab my shirt while I get my pants on?"

I got up to give him the privacy he wanted and I found his shirt easy enough. I swiped at the dirt that had collected on it.

A pair of arms wrapped around me from behind. "I'm sorry."

I leaned into Derek. "You can't go wolf on me every time someone bumps into me you know."

"I know."

"And maybe you shouldn't wait so long to Change. When was the last time you became a wolf?"

There was a pause. "A couple weeks ago. Maybe more. It was before we got home, I know that. But I don't see how me changing more often would affect anything."

I shrugged. "It was just a thought. Have you ever tried to make the Change happen instead of waiting for the fever and the muscle spasms?"

"No. And right now, I don't want to even try." His voice told me that he had made up his mind about it.

I wanted to reassure him that just because they modified us didn't mean we couldn't be like other Supernaturals. Could other werewolves change at will? I wished there was someone Derek could talk to about this. But the only contact we had had was through Andrew and as much as I probably could summon him top ask, it might not be the best idea.

Andrew probably hoped I would leave him alone. He had been just as scared of our powers as everyone else.

We stood there for a few minutes, his arms around me, warming me up. And as much as I would have loved to stay in his arms for just a little while longer, I knew we had to go.

His arms unwound from my body and he put on his shirt. Holding out his hand, Derek led us back towards the theatre. People were coming out of the cinema after the last movie. I checked my phone and realized that it was close to midnight.

No wonder my eyes were starting to droop.

Derek drove me home and I'm pretty sure I napped because the time it took to return to my place was short.

He walked me up to the apartment. "Do you want to stay over?" I asked him as I unlocked the door. "My dad won't be home until tomorrow."

I could see the wheels turning in Derek's head as he stood in the doorway. He looked exhausted; the Change took a lot out of him. "I'm just not sure what to tell Dad…"

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that," I said, laughing.

A grin broke out on Derek's face. "You know what, to hell with what Dad thinks. I'll tell him I Changed and then fell asleep in the forest afterwards."

Derek turned around and locked the door.

I led him to my bedroom, not that he needed to be told where to go. I offered to find a pair of pyjamas from my dad's drawer but Derek declined.

"You remember I like to sleep in my boxers." When I pointed out that he shredded them when he Changed, he laughed. "Actually, I think I have an extra change of clothes in the car. Unless you want me to sleep naked in your bed. I don't think I would mind that…"

I had to laugh at his comment. "As attractive as that sounds, maybe you should go get those clothes." I handed him my set of keys. "This way you can come back in without any problems."

He kissed me and left. I took the time that he was gone to wash my face, brush my teeth and get on my pjs. I tried to avoid the ugly but ultra comfy ones and found something mildly attractive. I didn't own any lingerie but Derek and I weren't there yet anyways.

I ended up choosing a tank top and shorts. I felt silly worrying about which pjs to wear; Derek had seen me at my worse.

I heard the door unlock and relock and a pair of feet shuffle towards my room.

Derek popped his head into my room and held up his bag. "I'll just go get ready in the bathroom. I'll be back."

Apparently Derek had stashed an overnight bag into the car because… well mostly I thought it was just a precautionary measure in case we needed to flee at a moment's notice. But part of me wondered if it was there for times like this as well.

I pulled back the covers of my bed and slipped inside. Derek came back shortly after in a pair of boxers and his breath smelling like minty toothpaste.

He crawled next to me and wrapped his arms around me. He snuggled into my neck. "You smell good."

I giggled. "Derek, stop. It tickles."

He "hmmm"ed but didn't stop. Instead he kissed me.

"Are you ever going to want to talk about this whole Changing thing?" I asked.

His kisses stopped. "You just had to go and ruin this." He sounded frustrated but Derek didn't remove his arms from me.

"Sorry, but you just seem so…" I wasn't sure what word to use. "You don't seem to be able to accept your werewolf side. It's a part of you. Just like necromancing is part of me."

"I don't think 'necromancing' is a word."

"That's not the point here. We are the way we are. You can't change that. "

Derek sighed. He tightened his grip on me as if that would hide him from the truth I was presenting him.

"Chloe, do you mind if we just sleep now? I'm exhausted and you know I get cranky if I don't sleep enough."

"You must not sleep enough every night."

"Goodnight funny girl." He gave me a kiss on the lips.

"Night," I said, a little reluctantly. He was going to have to accept this reality one day. I guess today was just not the day.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Heylo all our lovely readers! I'm back after a two chapter hiatus to bring you chapter four! Yay! Anyways, thanks as always to all those who have reviewed, don't worry, I'll be doing a MAJOR shout out in Chapter 6 (my next chapter) because it's super late and I'm super tired and I'm hoping you'll all forgive me for being so lazy. *sad, whimpery puppy eyes* :P **

**So please read, enjoy and review and Briee will be returning with her fabulous chapter 5 next week (I know it's fabulous because I've beta-ed it already, hehe). We're about two chapters ahead at this point, so never fear, we WILL be posting once a week all the way to the tenth chapter, at which time we will decide whether to do some offshoots, or maybe focus on some other characters, write some lemons, etc. Feedback and suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.**

Disclaimer: The only thing we get from this is personal satisfaction, because we aren't Kelley Armstrong and we don't own the rights to the books, the characters or...well, anything, really.

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Derek spending the night with me seemed to have marked a change in our relationship. We didn't spend any more time together than before, but things were different. I actually felt like I was in something that could potentially grow into a real, grownup, mature relationship, now that the frantic running-for-our-lives part was over. That is, when I didn't want to beat him over the head with one of his math textbooks…

Our time together felt different, felt- argh, it's so hard to put into words. I felt…closer to him, more connected. The fact that we spent a lot of our newly-discovered (and much appreciated) alone time attached at the lips might have contributed to that, too. I could literally kiss Derek all day long.

"Shit!" Derek flung himself onto the floor and started tossing our clothes back onto the couch. Completely confused, I sat up and stared at him. Two seconds ago he'd been kissing me like he had that first night at the motel, then he'd abruptly torn himself away.

"What?" My shirt almost sailed past me, but a last second snatch caught it. "Derek, what the heck are you doing?"

"Your dad," he panted, scrambling to get his shirt turned right side out and over his head while trying to pull on a sock. He stumbled and landed where I had been sitting a second before.

Note to self: Making out on the couch while not paying attention to the time when your dad is expected home that night to meet your boyfriend for the first time is _not_ the wisest of decisions. Fun, yes? Worth it? N-oh, heck, yeah, it was totally worth almost getting caught. There's no way I could lie to myself about that one. But the fact still remained that we were about to get busted with a capital, italicized and bolded "b".

"Crap!" I swore, almost ripping off a button off my sadly wrinkled shirt in my haste to get it done up. "You're sure?"

Stupid question. When in doubt, always trust the person with the bionic senses.

"Hurry," he urged, scrambling off the soda to tug on his other sock and tuck his shirt in, yanking it back out with a hasty curse when he realized that untucked was definitely a better idea, at least for the next few minutes.

I was going as fast as I could, but not fast enough for Speedy Gonzalez over there. He hopped impatiently from foot to foot, clearly itching to help me get the buttons done up faster.

"God, Chloe, hurry up!"

I spared a second for a glare and a quick grumble, then yelped as he hustled me onto the couch to finish while he sprinted across the room with a hissed, "Your hair!" to throw himself on the opposite sofa and hit the power button for the t.v.

"Chloe? Chloooooooooe? You home?" Dad's deep voice echoed through the hallway and I thanked God that we'd chosen the little sitting room at the very back of the condo instead of the open concept living room that Dad would have walked right into. That would have been fun to explain.

Not.

By some miracle, I managed to tug my shirt down and run my hands through my hair just as his steps headed this way.

"In the t.v. room," I called, giving us both a quick visual check to make sure we'd ended up with the right clothes on the right people. Derek was perched on the very edge of the couch, his hands on his knees, looking like he was about to face a firing squad.

"Relax," I whispered. "You look guilty."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed but at least he settled back a little. "I _am _guilty. I'm so, _so _guilty…"

"Oh, for God's sake, Derek, pull yourself together!"

"I've been manhandling his daughter on the very expensive sofa he paid for…" he continued, undaunted. A muffled groan that was half a laugh. "This is so not how I pictured this."

Thankfully my dad stuck his head in before I could laugh at Derek's woebegone expression, one I definitely hadn't seen before.

"Hey, baby!" my dad greeted, coming in to give me a kiss, stopping short when Derek rose up, towering over even my dad's six foot frame. Dad's eyes narrowed slightly as he assessed my extremely tall and built boyfriend, still partly stooped over me on the sofa.

"Jeez, Chloe, please tell me he's not old enough to drink yet," Dad turned his head my way with wide eyes. Derek canted his head to the side in a way that I recognized from his wolf form; having met with so many negative reactions from people, he was puzzled by my dad's lack of abject horror.

"_Dad, this is __ ". Possibly four of the most dreaded words in any girl's known vocabulary, running a close third to "_We have to talk_" and "_It's not you, it's me_".

No matter how great the guy, and how in love with him you are, your dad is going to take one look at him and know that this is the boy whose hormones are all riled up over _his_ daughter, his precious, innocent baby girl. No dad _ever_ wants to think about that. _God help me_, I thought, taking a deep breath and pasting a smile on my face.

"Dad, this is Derek." I watched carefully as Derek moved forward and shook my father's hand. Even in the dimmer light of approaching dusk, I could see my dad assessing everything from the strength of his handshake to the way Derek had subtly maneuvered so that he was between us, cautious as always.

The poor guy. He was convinced that my dad was going to pull a "get thy filthy hands away from mine daughter, foul Montague" thing and lock me in my fancy condo for life. Derek looked like he was getting ready to grab me and run.

I knew my dad better than that, but I'd stashed a backpack in Derek's car, just in case. Wait for rescue? Hah! Chloe Saunders waits to be rescued by no man! Although the though of Derek breaking down the door and carrying me out bridal-style does hold an odd appeal…

"Nice to finally meet you, sir." Derek was making a huge effort to temper his normal gruff manner, and he actually managed to conjure up a fraction of Simon's polite charm. It cost him, though; he was flushed, like he'd just struggled through a Change.

"Derek, is it?" My dad seemed more vaguely bemused by the concept that I was old enough to have a boyfriend than upset by my choice of said boyfriend.

The boyfriend in question nodded, a tense smile fixed on his lips. I loved his attempt to appear as non-threatening as possible. It was like putting a sparkly pink rhinestone collar on a slavering killer Doberman, though. Distracting, but ultimately not convincing.

"Yes, sir." _Did he think this was the army? _I thought, eyes bouncing back and forth between the two of them. Derek's eyes flashed over to me for a second and I saw the sharp anxiety there. Was he really that nervous?

"Steve'll work about as well as sir around here," Dad decreed, smiling as me as he gave Derek's hand a final pump and let it go. "So this is the young man Lauren was going on about."

Oh, for f- I mean, _oh darn_…I need to start watching my language. Any more time around Derek and I'll be swearing like a sailor. As I bit my lip, Derek's green gaze met mine with a matching look of dismay. Dad chattered on, oblivious as he wandered over to the mini-fridge behind the polished oak bar, pulling out three bottles of cherry cola.

"I think she's half in love you herself, helping Chloe out like you did, then helping her come home." He winked at Derek as he uncapped a bottle and held it out. "She seemed very impressed with your family, which – _believe_ me – is _not_ something Lauren bestows lightly."

My attempt at an innocent, "Oh, really?" giggle came out as too forced and too loud and I let my watery knees buckle to drop me onto the sofa, downing half the soda in one chug to shut my mouth while I mentally commanded my heart to start beating again.

Derek relaxed, hiding his surprise behind a much less tense expression.

"So, Derek," my dad got comfortable next to me and smiled encouragingly, resting his arm along the cushions behind my head, "why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"

We spent an hour chatting and I re-invented the crawlspace incident that had really marked a change in our relationship into the cover story I'd given my dad. The crawlspace turned into an alley behind a restaurant and the zombies into a couple of thugs who'd wanted to collect on the reward my dad had offered. I felt it was best to leave the re-burying the un-re-animated dead bodies part out entirely.

"So Derek came along and helped me get away from them and he started looking out for me after that. Eventually he brought me to meet Simon and Kit and when I decided I wanted to come home, they helped me out," I finished, with a little wink for Derek.

Dad laughed, shaking his head. "Wow, that's quite a how-we-met story, guys." A final swig of cherry cola. "And your dad, he's a lawyer, I think Chloe said?"

Nodding, Derek drained his own bottle, setting it carefully on the etched glass coaster on the side table. "Some minor criminal stuff, nothing too high profile. He was the one who told me to bring Chloe by. We all wanted to help her out."

He made it sound like they'd offered me a bed and a few hot meals in a properly chaperoned family home, not saving me from ghosts, man-eating werewolves and various deadly projectiles while fleeing across the state and sleeping together in warehouses, trucks and forests, not a responsible adult in sight.

"I'm very grateful to you and your family," Dad was saying. He'd shifted so that his elbows were propped on his knees, his eyes on the bottle he was rolling between his palms. "If there's ever anything I can do for you-"

"Meeting Chloe is all the repayment I- we could ever ask for," Derek interrupted, startling me with both his words and his unusually soft tone. Derek isn't the most articulate person, especially when it comes to compliments and what he calls "mushy stuff", but his heartfelt statement went straight to my soul.

I met his gaze and smiled cautiously; I was afraid of the melting feeling around my heart spreading to my eyes. There were two men in the room; they'd probably trample each other in their haste to get out and find a female who'd know what to do.

_Thank you,_ I mouthed, then looked over to see my dad's bittersweet expression.

"You've grown up," he murmured, awkwardly brushing back a piece of my hair. "Your mother-" he stopped to clear his throat roughly, "your mother would be so proud of you, baby." His voice cracked on the endearment she had always used for me.

I understood him a little better now. Losing Derek would quite literally cripple me. Losing my mother had ended my father's life; left with a daughter who was the spitting image of the adored wife he'd lost, my father had coped the only way he knew how. I couldn't resent him now, but more importantly, I never had.

Time held still for a moment, then my dad smiled sadly and got up, leaning across me to shake Derek's hand once more.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, son," he said quietly. "Take good care of her, and we'll get along just fine."

Ah, there it was. The veiled threat. Such a classic dad moment. A sudden image of Derek doing the meet-the-boyfriend routine someday popped into my head. Woe to that poor, foolish boy who would fall in love with Derek Souza's daughter. Hmm. Now maybe that's why werewolves only have sons; the teen male population suddenly dropping each time some guy and his daughter changed towns would eventually draw too much attention.

A quick kiss on the forehead from my dad and he disappeared down the hall into his bedroom to unpack, calling back a suggestion to order whatever we wanted for dinner, he was up for anything.

Derek eased over onto my sofa with a look of profound relief, and pulled me onto his lap for a quick cuddle, though I'm not sure who was more reassured by it, him or me.

"That actually went really well," I whispered, pressing my face into his warm neck that smelled like the woods at night.

"Mm."

"He liked you."

"I know." Was it my imagination, or did Derek sound a little odd?

"Derek?" I tried to pull back to see his face, but he tightened his arms, nuzzling my hair. "You ok?"

"Yeah." He was quiet for a moment, but I didn't push. He always needed time to choose his words. "He thinks I'm good enough for you."

A wide grin split my face even as tears came into my eyes at his obvious surprise. "Yup. Lucky for you his daughter thinks you're more than good enough for her, too."

Finally, I was able to squirm out from under his chin and press a kiss to his distractingly soft lips. A blazing grin broke out across his face as he jumped up with me still in his arms and blew a raspberry against my neck before dropping me lightly back on the couch and heading for the table in the hall where I keep the take-out menus.

"I'm starving," he called back, rummaging. "What are you in the mood for?"

I had to laugh. Only Derek could confront one of his greatest fears, move past it and then ruin a perfectly good romantic moment with his bottomless pit of a stomach.

"Chinese?" I suggested and heard his groan of agreement. What a guy.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note: Hey There DP fans! Briee again. Hope you guys are enjoying our story. In this chapter, we're introducing some of Kelley Armstrong's other characters from her adult series "Women of the Otherworld", specifically the first two books. If you don't know who they are, that's fine. We'll be more or less explaining who they are (since Derek and Chloe won't know who they are either). But if you guys have the chance, I think I can speak on behalf of both bodyandsoul and myself to say: go read them!**

**Bodyandsoul: Amen cousin! Yes, guys, read these books, they're amazing! And yay for a super long chapter! :P**

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong and we don't make any money off this.**  
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It started out as a normal night at Derek's house. I had been invited for supper, which had become a weekly (and sometimes biweekly) tradition since we got back. Once Kit had found out I usually ate my suppers alone, he insisted I come over. Not that Derek would have let me go back to eating by myself after he found out. Often, he'd find reasons to stay over until just in time for supper and then declare himself too hungry to leave.

Boys. Using their stomachs as excuses.

So after we ate, Kit started with the serious conversation.

"I don't know if you guys have been keeping up with the local news lately, but apparently, there's been sightings of a large wolf-like creature roaming about."

I knew our eyes would slip over to Derek and when mine finally did, he had his hands up in the air. "Not me. I've only Changed once since we moved in, and Chloe was with me. Did you see anyone while we were in the forest?"

I thought about it for a moment. "No, not that I noticed. Plus wouldn't you have smelt them?"

"Not if the wind was blowing the wrong way."

Kit waved it off. "Anyways, Derek, next time you need to Change, just be extra careful." When Derek looked like he was about to protest, Kit added, "I know you always are. But this could potentially be bad news for us if you are seen."

"Fine, fine," Derek grumbled. "Anyways, is there more about this dog sighting?"

"Well, at first it was sightings, but last night, someone reported being chased by them. They weren't seriously harmed or anything, just some scratches that needed to be stitched up, but his friend had a gun. Didn't hurt the thing but scared it off. Almost every news station around is warning people not to go out alone and to watch their backs."

"So you think there's a werewolf somewhere around here causing trouble?" Simon asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised. I have to wonder if this werewolf knows about Derek and is trying to find out more about him."

"Why?" I couldn't understand why any werewolf would want to hunt out Derek.

"Because of the rumours. I'm sure lots of people in the supernatural community have heard rumours about the Edison Group and what they were trying to do. Word might have gotten out that Derek is genetically altered. If that's the case, some might get curious. Not to mention, there are a few who would want to use Derek for their own advances."

I thought immediately of the St-Clouds, who had kept Kit captive until he'd given them what they'd wanted. The cabals would stop at nothing to get something they wanted.

"But how would they know who I am? I thought we destroyed all the information."

"You have to understand, Chloe, this project went on for years. Who knows how many members got away early on or spilled some info somewhere?"

"There's no way to know that!" Simon said. "Derek could be in trouble because of an unknown number of people without knowing what they might have told."

"I know, I know. But there is no way we could track down every single lead. Some might not even go anywhere."

Derek sat there pondering this information. I tried to catch his eye but he wasn't looking at me. "Are we going to have to move again?" His eyes finally lifted and he looked at his father. "Cause for once, I really don't want to leave."

If the conversation hadn't been super serious, I would have felt a little joy in my heart at his words. Okay, so part of me still felt glad, but I decided not to mention it.

Kit hesitated for a moment. "I think we're ok for now. There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger. But you guys have to know that if things get out of hand, we're leaving. Like we always do."

A sliver of panic flew through me. I didn't want Derek and Simon and even Kit to leave. The mere thought of not being able to see Derek every day almost made me want to cry. Instead, I grabbed his hand under the table. When he squeezed in return, I felt myself calm. If they went, so would I.

Things would be okay, I told myself. As long as I had Derek to squeeze my hand, things would be okay.

Unfortunately, Derek needed to Change that night and luckily, I had been at their house when it happened. The fever wasn't as high but the muscle spasms had started.

I have to admit that seeing them ripple under his skin was just a tad creepy. Not that I would ever tell Derek that.

We moved outside to the forest behind their house. Kit had only looked for houses near forests and they had been able to find something that suited their needs.

I won't bore you with the details of his Change, but once he finished, I found a log to sit on. In theory, I could have walked back to the house, but I had a feeling that Derek would have preferred me to stay out here, for two reasons.

First of all, he would want to be able to keep an eye on me. With that werewolf roaming about, I knew Derek would be extra protective. I could only imagine how much fun that would be. But I understood. Not only was this dangerous for Derek, but also for those close to him. If Simon, Kit or even me were to be hurt because of Derek, I know that he would never be able to forgive himself.

And secondly, although he would probably never admit it aloud (and I'm using the word 'probably' loosely here), it made him feel better to have me around. I liked believing that I helped him through his Changes and made them more bearable. God knows he helped me through all my necromacing stuff and I'm not sure where I'd be right now if it wasn't for him. Probably dead of fright in the crawlspace, but I didn't want to dwell on that.

Derek nudged my hand for a pet before he ran off. I tried listening for him but gave up. After all, Derek was stealthy and as a natural hunter, he couldn't be going around making loads of noise, but I knew he was close by. He'd never leave me unprotected for long. I had just gotten comfortable when he bounded out of the forest at a dead run.

He Changed back into human at a faster rate than normal. "We need to get out of here now. I saw the wolf. Actually, I think there might be two of them."

I got up quickly and threw him his shirt while he patted the ground for his pants.

Twigs snapped somewhere near us and Derek started growling. He placed himself between me and the noise, standing tall and proud even though he was naked. When it comes to werewolves, apparently posturing counts for a lot.

Two people walked out of the forest, keeping to the shadows. They moved… well, they moved like predators.

And they were naked.

The man and woman were good looking but I have to say that I was a little taken aback by the fact that they were in the nude. Like, no clothes, everything hanging out naked, naked as a jaybird naked...

Can you tell I was a little weirded out by the situation? Seeing Derek naked was one thing; two adults that I had never met before was another.

"Who are you?" Derek said, sounding menacing. I knew then that they must be the werewolves, otherwise Derek would have already chased them off, clothed or not.

They ignored his question. "Are you Nathan Jays?" the woman asked.

Derek growled again. "No. Who are you?"

I saw the two adults look at each other. Their lips moved but their voices were too low for me to know what they said, but I had a feeling Derek could understand them.

"What's your name?" the man asked. He had a southern drawl that made you think of hospitality and mint juleps, but the predatory look about him made you think that the hospitality might be more of the "Why don't y'all sit down before I shoot you" kind.

"I asked first."

The man's lip twitched upwards. "Do you know who the Pack is, pup?"

Wasn't that what Ramon and Liam had talked about? I wracked my brain to try and remember what they had said. But the words affected Derek a lot more than me.

"Haven't you guys learned that you can't scare me with your Pack crap? Get off my property. Now."

The adults looked at each other again. "Awfully bossy, isn't he?" the woman said, then turned her bright blue eyes on Derek again. "I'm thinking you've had a run in with some other mutts. They should have told you that you're not allowed territory unless you're Pack."

"Maybe he doesn't know that," the man said. His lips twitched again. "Maybe he needs to learn."

They split up and started circling around on either side, still naked, but Derek eased backwards. I had to watch his feet so that he didn't step on me.

"Let the girl go. She doesn't need to be here."

Oh, _now_ they notice me. Great. Like I needed the naked killer werewolves to notice me.

"She's not going anywhere without me."

The woman's nostrils flared as she drew closer. A look of confusion passed over her face. "Clay, wait."

The man turned, but never took his eyes off Derek. He looked a little impatient. "What?"

Clay? Where had I heard that name before? Certainly not associating that with a naked guy. Okay brain. Shut up now. They're naked. Get over yourself.

But they were naked!

To distract myself, I tried to think about what Ramon and Liam said about the Pack.

"For the last time, who are you?" the woman asked, her tone not as threatening but more curious.

Derek growled. "Like I said, you are on my property so you need to tell me who you are."

It was the Clay guy's turn to growl. "You need to learn some manners, pup. You don't get to speak to the Alpha's representative like that."

"So that makes you Clayton Danvers, then."

That made Clay stop for a moment. "Hmm. You obviously don't know my reputation. Or you're just stupid." He shot us a quick grin. "Guess I need some new pictures."

Derek's growl became louder. "Get off my property NOW!"

Clay was just about to lunge at Derek, or so it seemed, when the woman stopped him. "Clay, wait. I really don't think he knows." She looked at us. "I think we need to sit down and talk, but I'm starved. Where's the closest diner?"

When Derek didn't respond, I peeped over his arm. "There's one just a couple of blocks down. 'Patsy's Diner'."

Derek gave me a dirty look that told me to shut up.

"What about them?" Clay asked.

Yeah, what about us?

"They're coming with us, of course."

Of course? _Of course!_ She made it sound like the more normal thing in the world to get a lift to the local diner with two strange werewolves and have a bite to eat. We were going to die, I just knew it.

Clay sighed. "Fine. And here I was looking forward to some fun."

The woman turned her attention back to us. "Go get dressed. You two are coming with us."

Derek growled at her. "No."

She arched a brow and crossed her arms and I realized with a start that I had actually forgotten about the whole naked thing for a minute. "It's not really a voluntary thing." When he looked like he was about to protest again, she held up a hand. "Enough. Look, you obviously aren't the mutt we're looking for, but I want to know why we didn't know about you, and why you didn't know about us. It's in your best interests to be reasonable about this."

They stared at each other for a long time, then Derek finally moved enough so that I could get out from behind him. He asked me to grab his pants and shirt and told me where to find them. Normally, I would have fought him on that, saying that I wasn't his slave. But I understood. He didn't want to turn his back on them for even a moment.

Once Derek was dressed, we ended up between the couple as they went to get their clothes. I could practically hear Derek's brain slapping plans together, evaluating and then discarding them, since I'm pretty sure that most of them involved me getting killed. They put on their clothes and continued moving. Derek was always just a step in front of me, probably hoping that if Clay decided to turn around and kill us, he could attempt to protect me, although I was positive that the pretty blond was just as deadly as her partner.

At least they weren't naked anymore. Okay brain, move on please.

"Do you know who they are?" I asked Derek in a whisper.

"I think so. Remember the story those mutts told us about Clay? That he killed someone with a chainsaw?" Behind me, the woman sighed.

I stumbled. "Oh, god. Oh, my god." I felt sick. _Now_ I knew who the man was. He was the psycho who Liam had said had carved up a mutt with a chainsaw. While he was still alive. My heart started to pound and I looked around to see if there was anything that I could raise that could actually do enough damage to stop them if they tried to kill us.

Derek gave me a look that told me I needed to get myself together. I took a deep breath. He was right. Me freaking out was not going to help things. This was not the time for a meltdown. They hadn't killed us yet.

I had lived through worse. This was nothing. My knees started shaking so hard that I tripped at least three more times before we saw the road ahead.

Oh god, we were going to die.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Wow, you guys are amazing in terms of consistent reviews. I can tell you that we both really appreciate every comment and any constructive criticism is taken in the spirit of improvement, so keep it up! Anyways, we've got your next chapter up here, and hope you like as much as the previous ones!**

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley, we don't own these characters and we don't make money from this.

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Clayton was the most legendary fighter in the werewolf world, or so Derek had told me, and the woman's sleek, slim build was deceptive; she hadn't survived in the werewolves' power-hungry world without being just as good of a fighter as her ridiculously handsome mate. Derek might have managed to get us away from two werewolves before, but Liam and Ramon's method's were ham-fisted. Those two had been brute strength fighters; the tall and blond duo were stealthy, wickedly smart killers. If this was ultimately going to end in murder, there wasn't a damn thing Derek or I could do about it right now, even if Derek's muscles weren't still recovering from an abnormally quick and forced Change.

A year ago, I would have trembled with fear, leaning against Derek's strength, preparing to run for my life. Not anymore. We were fighters, too, but we were also survivors, and we had gotten out of worse situations with all limbs intact. No sense going out with guns blazing if there was another way to end this.

When we finally got to the small clearing by the side of the road, I was a little shocked at their mode of transport. They had come in a Prius. Funny, I'd expected something more menacing, maybe a Monster truck or at the very least a Hummer. Hi, I'm a ruthless killer and I drive a Prius…

Under Clayton's watchful gaze, I slid into the backseat with Derek crowding in behind me, all but backing into the car so he wouldn't have to turn his back on the strange werewolves. They exchanged an amused glance and, as Clayton slammed the door, I saw the woman hold out her hand for the keys. Clayton shook his head, jabbing a finger at the passenger seat. She got right up into his face and glared, finally stomping on his foot in frustration. Their argument settled, she snatched the keys from his fingers and settled into the driver's seat with a smirk.

It honestly seemed like the most normal thing that had happened in the last few hours.

Have you ever stopped in the middle of something and marvelled at how unbelievable it is? Yeah, well, welcome to my life.

Poor Derek was edgy as hell in the seat next to me, uncomfortable because there was no way for him to keep me safely behind him and out of Clayton's reach.

Clay really had the death-stare down pat; he only blinked about six times in the few minutes it took us to reach the restaurant, his blue eyes calm and icy cool as he kept watch, half-turned in the passenger seat, ready to tear us to shreds if we so much as twitched in a way he didn't like. Suffice it to say that it was a quiet ride.

It was odd, being marched into a diner like there was a firing squad waiting for us. Funnily enough, both adult werewolves inhaled deeply and sighed with sheer pleasure as they all but frog-marched us to a booth in the very back.

Derek eased in first, leaving me on the edge, unchivalrous but practical; if we needed to run, I would need all the head start I could get. Clay settled in on the other side, keeping his distance from Derek, and I got the sense that putting two strange males this close together without them trying to kill each other took an enormous amount of discipline on both their parts.

With a sigh, the woman shoved her partner in further. He complied with a sigh and a glare, leather creaking as he re-settled. "Men," she breathed softly, then pierced me with her bright blue eyes. "I hope you know what you want."

I wasn't planning on telling her I wasn't hungry, so I grabbed for a menu and quickly made a choice. Good thing I did, since the slim blond was already hailing a pretty brunette waitress who took our orders with entirely too many flirtatious giggles in the men's directions. It was actually funny to see the identical disinterested looks that she received in return. Her pencil moved faster after that and she hustled away in high dudgeon after slapping down some mugs of steaming coffee.

The woman took the lead, stretching out her long, jean-clad legs. "Let's try to be a bit more civilized," she started, shooting Derek a look when he muttered, "Too late."

"I'm Elena," she said, then gesturing in her partner's direction, "and this is my husband, Clay." Her arresting stare flicked back and forth between Derek and I. "And you look like every Cain I've ever seen."

"Who are these Cains?" he asked, but I leaned forward, bracing my elbows on chipped Formica tabletop, intrigued despite my concern.

"You mean Zachary Cain, don't you? Liam said Derek looked like him." That night came back to me with shattering clarity.

"Liam Malloy?" The soft drawl matched Clay's good looks but not the predatory gleam in his eyes. Every time he blinked, I flinched internally, hearing the echoes of chainsaws.

Reluctantly, Derek shrugged. "We didn't exchange names before he tried to kill us."

I reached for his hand under the table, relieved when he returned my squeeze. This wasn't a topic I liked to revisit, because I knew Derek would pay for it later with nightmares, but it had to be done. "Did Ramon bring him to you?"

The combined force of two pairs of laser-bright eyes made me swallow hard.

"H-he said that he was going to bring Liam's body to you, explain that Liam was the man-eater you were looking for." I'm not ashamed to admit that I finally drew a deep, unsteady breath when those eyes flicked over to Derek.

"So you're the mutt who took care of him." Clay smiled grimly, one of the most unnerving things I've ever seen. "Too bad. I was looking forward to handling him myself."

It took me a second to put my finger on it, but when I did, I sucked in a startled breath, amazed. For all the carefully cultivated bloodthirsty attitude, Clay's eyes and voice lacked the frantic, almost erotic pleasure that Liam had expressed. Clay mouthed the words but they were flat; this was work, not play. The hard ball of dread eased slightly. This wasn't someone who'd kill recklessly and without reason.

Now we just needed to make sure we didn't give him one.

"Yeah, well, he's dead." Derek's voice was harsh, but his hand was gentle around mine. His thumb stroked the hammering pulse in my wrist soothingly. "And if one of those Cain guys was my father, I never met him."

Elena looked impatiently around for our food, growling in an eerily familiar way when the waitress was nowhere to be found. "Well, the Cains are a messy story for another day, but since we still don't have our food, you can tell us how in the hell you hooked up with the human here." She took a sip of coffee, her gaze steady over the rim. "You should have known better."

I answered before Derek could even open his mouth. "It wasn't his fault," I said in a rush, my hand closing convulsively around Derek's. "I found him in the middle of his first Change."

Elena choked on her coffee and ended up spitting her mouthful back into the mug, staring at me. "And you _stayed_?"

Maybe they weren't as smart as I had thought. "Well, yes. What was I supposed to do, leave him?"

"Chloe." Derek's warning tone should have stopped me, but it didn't.

"It was the least I could do for him after he helped me re-bury the bodies."

One of Clay's perfectly sculpted golden eyebrows rose almost into his hairline. "Excuse me?"

"_Chloe_." The warning tone had lowered into a warning growl, but I held up my free hand in his direction, asking him to settle down.

"I'm a necromancer," I said, surprised by Clay's exasperated sigh as he barked a humourless laugh and rolled his eyes.

"Another one," he lamented. Elena swapped her coffee mug for his and took a deep swallow.

Derek and I exchanged glances, puzzled by their odd reaction, but they didn't explain. Instead, the mini-interrogation continued.

"So tell me how a necromancer runs into a werewolf in the middle of a Change that he shouldn't even be having yet." The waitress approached and three heads snapped towards the tantalizing smell of ham. "Hold that thought," Elena ordered, staring at the food with an intensity that I found a little alarming.

The waitress was nearly staggering under the enormous weight of her tray. My plate was the first off of it and I gaped at the amount of food. By the time the tray was empty and the table was full, I couldn't believe my eyes. Each of the werewolves had a heaping plate of the "Hungry Ogre" diner special and there were additional platters of pancakes, ham and sausages and a carafe of coffee. My full plate looked comically empty next to that.

Clay surveyed his three easy-over eggs, toast, sausages, bacon, ham, pate and baked beans with satisfaction. "This is a good start," he commented before digging in.

I almost choked on a bite of egg. Even Derek didn't eat that much. But as I watched the mounds of food disappear, I realized just how much of his snacking he must have been hiding, because he kept up with the others, bite for bite.

After twelve pancakes, three extra sausages, four cups of coffee and a "Hungry Ogre" special plate each, three identical sighs of repletion sounded around our table. I had eaten an egg, a piece of ham and one of my two pieces of toast.

Didn't I feel like I couldn't keep up.

Clay drained his mug for the last time and Elena leaned back, tucking a stray piece of hair back behind her ear. I think they were holding hands under the table. Moment after moment, they were becoming more human, and I was now sure (mostly) that killing us was no longer on their to-do list.

"Now then, where were we?" The impatient edge was gone from Elena's voice; like Derek, I guess she got crankier when she was hungry. Her newfound calm helped me relax, and after a long look at Derek to confirm that I was the one who had to go through our story, I began.

"We met in a group home. They told Derek he had anger issues, but he was lucky enough to have always known what he was. He was just playing along until he could convince his brother to escape." Derek's thumb took up the soothing stroking on the inside of my wrist again.

"And you?" Apparently eating didn't cure Clay's impatience. Elena rolled her eyes.

"They told me I was crazy, gave me drugs to stop the "hallucinations"." I shrugged to relieve the tension in my shoulders. "It was a place operated by the scientists who messed with our genes in the first place. We were part of an experiment to alter our powers even before our conception."

"You didn't know."

"No. But then I saw a ghost I knew, one of the girls who had been at the house with us." My heart twisted a little as I thought of Liz and I hoped, once again, that she'd be alright in the after-life.

"They were killing you." Clay's voice was hard, and I suddenly noticed the fine lines of strain around Elena's eyes and mouth. The knuckles of the hand still curled around her coffee whitened until the ceramic began to crack.

Derek nodded and his deep voice continued, surprising me. "We were trying to find my dad. Along the way we found out what they'd done to us. They made some of us more powerful instead of less, too powerful for them to control."

I didn't understand the hunted look in Elena's eyes, but I did catch Derek's surreptitious glance at his watch and the briefest glimmer of satisfaction at whatever he saw there. I wanted to catch his eye, see if I could ask him about it, but Elena slid to the edge of the booth, a slim black phone appearing in her hand. "If you'll excuse me, I need to make a call."

With her gone, we all just stared at each other.

"So-" I said, just to break the silence, but Clay held up a hand.

"I don't do small talk." Oddly enough, even though I couldn't see any outward sign of it, I could sense Derek's amusement. I felt like I was seeing an older version of Derek; mature, a better fighter, still completely uninterested in talking to anyone not part of his little Pack.

We sat silently, and between my full stomach and the steady stroking on my wrist, I was getting lulled into a waking doze. The diner wasn't very busy at the moment; only two other tables had patrons, so when the bell chimed, I looked over, startled to see two very familiar faces. The older of the two's was frozen over with fury, the younger's creased in concern.

Kit was in full avenging parent mode as he strode through the diner, fingers moving at his side. "Just what the hell is going on here?" he demanded.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Howdy doody fellow DP lovers! I know we usually post on Sundays, but since I'm moving this week, my computer is taking a five day nap, and we really wanted to stick to our commitment of updating every week, so here's Chapter 7 a week early, yay! Just as a quick warning, both of us found this chapter to be a little slow, but there isn't much else to be done with it, because we're setting up for a possible second ten-chapter story that will continue after this one leaves off, so don't judge too harshly on the lack of movin' and shakin'. :) Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We're not Kelley Armstrong, we don't own these characters and we don't make any profit other than personal satisfaction. :)

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Clay was on his feet so fast he nearly left a vacuum in his wake, eyes blazing as he snarled. "_Elena_."

The sound was enough to send sharp tremors of fear down my back, but Derek was nearly smiling.

"Took you long enough," he griped. I tried to keep a wary eye on Clay and stare at Derek at the same time. It was difficult.

"What are you talking about? How did he know-"

"She's fine," Kit was saying to Clay, trying to keep him from losing it in the middle of the diner. "She's outside with one of the other kids, and we're going to go join them, and then I want an explanation."

As the moments passed without Clay's feral eyes seeming to register anything Kit was saying, Simon eased in front of the door, and if I knew him, he had a knock back spell ready.

Finally, Clay's face calmed slightly and he nodded once, shortly, striding towards the door with Kit right behind him, binding spell ready at hand. The other customers had watched the odd exchange with curiosity, but with the threat of bloodshed removed, they calmly went back to their breakfast, apparently convinced that the trouble would be dealt with far away from them and the necessity for their concern.

"Chloe?" I realized that Derek was gently nudging me along the bench towards the edge. "Let's go."

"Oh, sorry!" As I scrambled out of the booth, I saw Simon's excited grin and his wink and I finally started to relax. The threat was neutralized, especially since the "other" Kit had referred to must be Tori. If anyone tried anything, chances are good that Tori'd just fry them; her energy balls had grown to the size of dinner plates and could deliver second-degree burns if she let them get out of control. Poor Simon…Well, at least his arms had healed up quickly; his scars weren't so obvious anymore.

When Derek met up with us at the door, we went out together and I saw Kit and Clay crossing the street to a small park. Clay broke into a jog until he reached Elena, who was sitting on the park's only bench, looking furious with her empty hand still frozen next to her ear while Tori scrolled through her phone.

Snapping her gum, Tori grinned and thumbed over her shoulder as we approached. "She doesn't like me. No idea why."

"Let her go," Kit ordered, some of his earlier fury gone now that the situation was under control and Derek and I were clearly not harmed.

Elena sprang to her feet and would have gone for Tori, but she checked herself and settled for looming and glaring. Even with long blond hair, blue eyes and breasts, she looked remarkably like Derek at that moment.

"What the hell is this?" she hissed, eyes narrowed as they shifted from person to person. It was obvious Elena didn't like to be cornered.

Kit crossed his arms; Simon and Tori had the two werewolves covered. A brow arching, he gave them a look. "Excuse me? You grab two of my kids and wonder why I came to get them?"

Clay hovered just behind Elena, protecting her flank, eyes fixed on Kit when they weren't scanning for threats.

"They're fine."

"Ah, yes. Of course I would have known that, with me being a mind-reader and all." Simon smirked; sarcasm that rich coming from a parent _was_ pretty funny.

Derek shrugged. "Panic buttons are called "panic" buttons for a reason."

I looked over my shoulder at him. He shifted closer so I could feel his warmth all down my back and held his arm out in front of us. I had noticed his new watch, but I hadn't thought anything of it, but I realized now that I should have; Derek never buys luxuries for himself.

"It's got a GPS. I alerted Dad as soon as I got my jeans on."

"Who are you people?" Elena was still watching us warily. "You're not scientists?"

I felt for her; I remembered what it was like to be at the mercy of binding spells. "We're exactly who we said we were. This is Derek's foster dad and brother, and another girl from the group home."

Two sets of blue eyes looked each of us over, verifying our story, gauging the truth of what we had told them. Something seemed to click for Kit.

"You're werewolves." He moved quickly between them and Derek. "If he doesn't want anything to do with you, you'll leave him alone. I won't allow him to be forced in with the Pack."

Kit kept Derek behind him. Derek kept me behind him. I looked over my shoulder and sighed. I had a squirrel on a branch behind me that I could protect. Oh, yeah, right. The squirrel could probably defend itself better than I could.

"She was talking to some guy named Jeremy," Tori offered as she cocked a hip and leaned against the water fountain. Her dark hair shone under the sun. "Derek's the only "mutt" who hasn't started trying to hump her leg as soon as he's seen her, apparently." She grinned nastily at Derek. "I guess Chloe finally got him to stop doing that."

While Derek rolled his eyes and Simon started giving her hell – "Do you _have_ to be such a bitch _all_ the time?" – I looked at Elena.

"Jeremy? He's your Alpha, right? Why do you want Derek to meet him?"

She cast a vaguely amused look at Tori and Simon and settled on the bench, clearly accepting that their lives weren't in danger at that particular moment. Clay took up a position behind her, still not convinced. "How did a bunch of scientists end up with a pup-"

"Four," Derek said, then seemed surprised at the involuntary response. "There were four of us. They killed the others." He moved up beside his dad.

Clay looked murderous. For once I didn't blame him. Anyone whose blood was cold enough to kill a child deserved whatever they got. "Why?"

"They attacked a nurse," Kit replied, his expression anguished. He closed his eyes for a second. "Derek went and got help, but some still wanted to see him ki- taken care of. I couldn't let that happen."

Eyes narrowed, Elena shook her head. "I used to be a journalist, and right now you're just making me more curious. I hate not having all the details." Gesturing at the phone that Tori was tossing from hand to hand as she taunted Simon, she explained, "I was calling our Alpha to get his ok to extend an offer to visit Stonehaven."

"As a guest or a prisoner?" The bickering in the background had settled into muttered comments and bitter glares as Derek crossed his arms. I stepped up beside him and let my hand rest on his lower back as I looked up at him.

It was the only thing I felt I could do at the moment.

"The Pack can help you," Elena said simply. "You never should have ended up in that lab. We take care of our own."

Derek didn't say anything, but I knew he was turning her offer over in that brain of his, analyzing all the possible connotations and repercussions of accepting or rejecting.

"Look, we're offering you a chance to meet some other werewolves without having to come out swinging."

"And if he's not interested?" Kit asked bluntly, a protective hand resting on Derek's shoulder. Simon moved closer, as did Tori and my heart warmed. Derek might feel like an island sometimes, but we were surrounded by family. Family who would use their really cool powers to mess you up if you pissed them off.

Both blond werewolves shrugged. "He leaves," Clay said dismissively. Clearly he didn't particularly care for the idea of bringing a strange werewolf near his home; he'd be fine with Derek walking away.

"And if I stay?" Derek asked, surprising Kit, but not me. Derek has a truly scientific mind in the sense that he always wants to know how things work. And nothing could interest him more than learning more about how _he_ works.

"Then you're Pack." Clay's voice rang with pride. "When there's trouble, you fight on our side. Think you could live with obeying an Alpha, mutt?"

But Derek didn't answer. He just looked thoughtful as he slid his arm snugly around me and a brief smile graced his face as he looked down at me.

"Ready to go home?"

I nodded.

Everyone else looked puzzled, but Clay and Elena submitted to being escorted to the parking lot, where Elena reluctantly handed over the keys to the Prius. Derek and I brought the shiny new car home, while Kit drove the others in the van, Simon and Tori still playing bodyguards.

I deliberately drove a little bit slower than usual, letting the others reach the house and get inside before we pulled into the driveway. I shut off the engine and listened as it ticked, sensing that Derek wanted to say something.

"I love you." Not what I was thinking, but ok.

"I love you, too," I replied, a little surprised. He rarely said those words, preferring instead to let his actions speak for him.

He stared out the windshield, his jaw tense. "You can't come with me if I go."

"I know."

"I don't want to go without you." He still wouldn't look at me, and I knew he was really forcing himself to do all this "mushy feeling talking stuff", as he usually called it. And that was Derek; strong, gruff, stubborn, astonishingly smart, but with that vulnerability that he'd only show to me.

I felt honored.

I laid a hand on the hard muscles of his thigh. "I think it could be good for you to go, though."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

Crawling over the armrest, I maneuvered onto his lap (a little awkwardly I will admit), winding my arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his warm and slightly scratchy cheek. He always smells like the woods at night, better than any cologne.

"We'll figure it out. I'm going to be right here when you come back and we'll see what happens."

A long inhale, then a deep sigh. Derek's arms crept around me and we took a minute to just cuddle, the prolonged adrenaline rush finally fading. Well, at least until the locks snapped open, startling us both.

Simon winked from the porch where he'd cast the spell, proud at his success. "Dad wants you in here," he called when he'd gotten our attention.

I didn't object when Derek simply scooped me up and headed for the house. The thought of impending separation made me want to squeeze in all the affection we could before he'd go.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's note: Hey guys, it's Briee again. Hope you guys are enjoying your summer. Although not all of you might be in summer…hmmm… hope you are enjoying your July might be better. Any Houdini, here is chapter 8. **

**A/N from bodyandsoul: SORRY I was a day late, but it averages out because I posted a day early last week. :) Anyways, thanks for the patience and the lack of rioting! Enjoy.**

Disclaimer: We're not Kelley Armstrong, we don't make any money from this and the characters aren't ours. :(

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"Chloe, I think I'm going to go with them."

"What! Derek, I thought you didn't want to go with them."

"I need to protect us. This is the way to do that."

I furrowed my brow, trying to think of a way around it. But when I couldn't, I just sighed. "How long are you going to be gone for?"

Derek shrugged. "As long as it takes. I'm hoping just a few days." He took my hand. "You know this needs to be done."

I sighed again. "I know, I know. Doesn't mean I'll like it."

"I'm not asking you to."

Frustration overwhelmed me and I wanted to cry. "You'll come right back afterwards right?"

"Yes. I'm not letting them take me back to Stonehaven. At least, not without you."

Finally I nodded, giving my consent. I wasn't happy with this arrangement, but I would have to deal with it.

The day Derek left with Clay and Elena, we shared a long and sweet kiss. It sounded cliché to say, but to me it was filled with promises; promises of a return and not letting anything happen to me.

As I watched the Prius drive away, I sat on the steps of Kit's doorway. I felt tears prickle my eyes but I tried holding them back. Doing so made me want to cry even more.

Simon came outside after a while and sat with me.

"He'll be back, you know."

"I know. I just didn't want him to leave in the first place."

"None of us did." Simon bumped my shoulder with his. "But Chloe, he'll return. He would never leave us behind, let alone you."

I felt miserable. I didn't know the next time I would be seeing Derek or even what condition he would be in. "You don't think he'll get hurt do you?"

Simon hesitated for a moment. "It's a possibility. But with Clay and Elena there, I doubt anything worse than a scratch will come to him. They need his help."

I snorted. "Like they would need Derek's help. They both look capable of taking care of themselves."

Simon shrugged beside me. "Derek's good in a fight. He can hold his own, too." When I didn't answer, he continued. "Chloe, you need to come inside. Eat something. Dad will drive you home later or you can stay here for the night. Either way, staring at the driveway will not make them come back any quicker."

The logic was sound and even though part of me wanted to argue, I knew Simon was right. "Fine. Can we have some grilled cheese sandwiches?"

Simon laughed and put his arm around me. "Sure, Chloe. Let's go tell Dad about our food choice."

I ended up staying the night in Derek's bed. It made me feel better to be surrounded by his sheets, which smelled like him. Dreams of him swirled in my head and more than once I woke up thinking, and hoping, that Derek would be there with me. I was glad my father wasn't home that night; there was no way I could have explained things to him. And Kit was more than welcoming.

In the morning, I got a text from Derek saying that they had arrived in the town where the Mutt was. He didn't say much more and although I would have loved to have gotten more info, I knew that I would get it when he returned.

I padded into the kitchen and saw that Kit and Simon were just making breakfast. When they saw me, they added another egg to the pan. We sat down at the table together but we could all feel Derek's presence missing.

We discussed the Mutt and how Derek was going to help Clay and Elena, but I could tell we were all not too happy with the arrangement.

"Chloe, I was thinking," Kit said suddenly, "If Clay and Elena try to convince Derek to go to Syracuse, you should go with them."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Jaime Vegas has an in with the pack. Rumour has it that she's dating the Alpha, Jeremy. She's a necromancer and you could claim you would like to talk to her about your powers."

I mulled this over in my mind. "You know, I like this idea."

"Alright, it's agreed. Now, it's Saturday and you two kids have the day off. Instead of sitting at home fretting about Derek, we should go out and do something. Any suggestions?"

Kit and Simon dropped me off at home later that day after we went for a walk through the market place. I had picked up a purse that was woven and a small hand-crafted wolf for when Derek returned. Simon and Kit had also bought little trinkets and some fresh corn for supper. They invited me to stay the night again, but I knew I had to go home tonight. My dad was sitting in the kitchen waiting for me, reading his newspaper.

"Oh good, you're home." He gave me a hug from his chair. "Have you eaten yet? Or should I prepare something?"

"If by prepare you mean order in, maybe some Thai food would be good."

My dad grinned at me. "You read my mind."

A few days passed and I would only get the periodical text from Derek saying things were good and he would be home soon. Finally, one night, my phone went off. It wasn't a text but rather a call.

"Hello?"

"It's me."

"Derek!" Relief flooded through me when I heard his voice. "How are you?"

"A little tired but good." I could hear the strain in his voice. "You okay? And how're Simon and Dad?"

"I'm fine and so are they. We're just worried about you a bit. Are you going to call them?"

"I can't. I have about 15 minutes until we need to go again and while Elena and Clay call Jeremy, I was allowed to call you."

"Oh, okay then. I'll let them know you called."

"Thanks."

There was a moment of silence. "When are you coming home?"

"I think we're leaving tomorrow night. We've, uh, taken care of the threat. So we should be back sometime the day after. Dunno when, though."

I pushed away the info about the Mutt for a later time and concentrated on when Derek was returning. "Let me know when you're back."

"Will do."

We talked a bit longer, mostly making plans for when he'd get back. He also asked me to relay a message to his dad and to be there when he got home.

"Of course I'll be there. Where else would I be?"

If Derek had been here, he would have shrugged in his eloquent and utterly Derek way. But since that wasn't possible for me to see on the phone, he just said, "Dunno."

We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone. A few more days, I thought, and then I would see Derek again.

I stood on the porch with Kit and Simon as we watched the Prius drive up. The car had barely even come to a halt when Derek burst from the back seat. His eyes looked tired but when he saw us, I could see the start of a grin form on his face.

He gave his dad and Simon a quick hug before grabbing me and kissing me on the lips for a moment. He set me down but kept his arms around me.

"I've helped you out," Derek said, turning to Clay and Elena, who had come out of the car. "You can go back to Stonehaven now."

"We know," Elena said. "But Derek, Clay and I agree you would do good in the Pack. You don't have to come live with us. We can see you have a family here. But just come for a visit. There's no harm in that."

Derek stubbornly put out his chin. "I'm not leaving them. Especially Chloe."

Elena looked like she was going to argue but before she could I spoke up. "What if I came with you?"

I felt the werewolves look at me like I had grown an extra head. "You know Jaime Vegas. It would be nice to talk to her and I've heard that she spends a lot of time around your place." I had no idea whether she'd be any help or just another person who'd treat me like a danger to humanity, but I needed all the arguments I could to get them to let me come to Stonehaven with Derek.

"She doesn't need a kid hanging around asking questions," Clay mumbled, but I heard him perfectly.

Elena's phone suddenly went off. Answering it, she looked a little amused. "Jer, I'm kind of busy…_Yes_, I'm trying to convince him to come, but he won't leave without his girl." There was a pause and Elena chuckled a little. "Funny, cause that's just what she said. And you can tell Jaime I can hear her just fine. If she wants to ask me she can…. Hi, Jaime…. Yes, yes, fine… If Jeremy says it's…. Well, I guess it's settled." Elena hung up the phone.

Clay groaned. "Really?"

Elena chuckled. "Yup. Looks like Jaime has impeccable timing. Looks like she wants to meet you too. Jeremy must have mentioned that you can raise the dead without a hitch."

A morbid pride shone in my chest. I could tell this would be an interesting conversation.

"When do we leave?" I asked.

"Well, we were going to leave tonight, but I'm guessing both of you need to pack. And we could always use a rest. So let's meet here tomorrow morning, say 9 o'clock?"

It was Kit who responded. "Sounds good. They'll be ready."

Now how was I going to explain this to my dad?


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Two of my chapters in a row. With no time to write. Don't you love having two jobs and trying to fit in some sort of social life? Cause I sure as heck don't. At least, some days…. BTW, I had to look up online how long it took from Buffalo to Syracuse and it told me about 2 hours if you are going a 100 km (American equivalent is about 62 miles per hour). Dunno how accurate that is, but it's what I'm going with.**

**bodyandsoul: Hey all, sorry about the week's delay, but here's Chapter Nine and I've already got Chapter Ten written, so for sure it'll be ready to rock and roll next week. :) We've decided to continue this story, seeing as how we've had so much fun writing this, but I can't promise that it'll continue right away, it may take us a few weeks to get everything set up. Anyways, without further ado, here's Chapter Nine.**

Disclaimer: We aren't Kelley Armstrong, we don't own these characters and we don't get paid for playing with them.

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The drive up to Stonehaven was a long one and, against my better judgement, I fell asleep in the back of the car. With Derek there, I felt safe.

It had been difficult without him around. I was worried and scared, wanting to make sure he was okay. A million scenarios passed through my head, each worse than the next, so naturally I wasn't sleeping so soundly.

With Derek back safe and sound, my brain decided that it needed some rest and the lull of the car was just what it took.

Two hours later, we arrived in Syracuse. Derek roused me and we made our way inside.

Kit had called my dad and told him that he, Simon and Derek were going away for five days and that they wanted to take me along. He made it sound like some sort of educational trip while Kit had business to attend to. My dad had almost said no, but realized that he had his own business trip coming up and that he would feel better knowing I wasn't alone.

I felt bad about all the lying we had to do, but we had to protect my dad. I love him dearly, but I have a feeling he would be happier not knowing what's out there.

Another man came into the hallway and stood next to Clay and Elena. Clay immediately shifted so that both Elena and the unfamiliar man were behind him, eyes on Derek. While Clay and Derek did their body language thing, I studied the newcomer. He looked a little older than the pair, and just a little friendlier. I wondered if he was the Alpha, or whatever the term was. Alpha sounded about right, and something about the way the man carried himself, the quiet but powerful demeanour told me I was right.

Clay relaxed the move-and-die look slightly when Derek didn't instantly fling himself at the guy's carotid, and planted himself there with his arms crossed. It didn't look like he was going to be enlightening us anytime soon. Elena looked like she was doing all the talking but my hearing wasn't wolf-like so I couldn't hear any words, just the quiet rise and fall of her voice.

Reaching for Derek's hand while we waited for an introduction, I wondered what Elena saw in Clay. Sure, he was handsome (or maybe god-like would be more appropriate), but anyone who spent two seconds with him knew he was about as friendly as the rusty chainsaw he had probably used to carve up that other werewolf. Or was that just with strangers? Maybe he was like Derek, really a decent guy who just wanted to protect everyone he loved, but socially inept and unnecessarily abrupt while doing so.

I began getting very curious about how Clay and Elena grew up, how different it must have been. Or had it been the same? Did they grow up together or meet at a later time? Did they hate each other at first?

I had a feeling my curiosity wouldn't be resolved any time soon. Werewolves didn't strike me as the chattiest, hey-here's-my-life-story kind of people. Or wolves. Was people the right word to use? Political correctness in the supernatural world looked like it might be a challenge.

The other man suddenly turned his attention to us. He came over to where Derek and I were standing near the door, Clay muttering irritably as he had to scramble to stay between us and his…Alpha? Boss? Yikes.

"I'm Jeremy. Welcome to Stonehaven. Please, make yourselves at home. We wouldn't want you to think we are keeping you prisoner. Far from it, actually."

Derek nodded but didn't say anything. His mind must be racing. When Jeremy looked at me, I smiled shyly. "Thanks." I didn't know what else to say. Jeremy seemed super serious, but there was something that I liked about his eyes. His lips moved a little in the faintest of smiles as he gestured to the wide staircase that led upwards.

"We have a room ready for you upstairs, the second on the left." He must have caught our surprise at being given the same bedroom. Most adults would have had us at opposite ends of the house with a full army of supervisors to make sure it stayed that way. "Would you two prefer separate rooms? As you'll discover, we're not shy about things like that around here."

Things like what? Oh my god. Did he think we were going to be having sex here? I wanted to die a little of mortification.

Before I could say anything, Derek nodded again. "One bedroom is fine." I quelled the sudden flutter in my stomach. He was clearly only thinking that it would be safer for us to be together. Right.

"Perfect. You can bring your bags upstairs and get comfortable. We'll be eating soon."

Under Clay's watchful eye, we made our way upstairs and found our room. It was nice, very upscale. If only we had had more rooms like this when we were on the run.

By the time we had changed, Elena was knocking to let us know supper was ready. This supper consisted of each of the four werewolves eating more than any normal human should and me barely finishing one plate of food. I tried eating as slowly as I could so that I wouldn't be sitting there watching them shovel food into their mouths. Apparently they weren't big on dinner conversation, focusing instead on getting necessary calories into their bodies. After we had eaten, Jeremy told us we would discuss what had happened in the morning and Derek and I retreated to our room.

I knew that they would be dissecting everything that had happened while they were gone, and discussing Derek and myself, but I didn't argue. I just went upstairs with Derek.

We got some time alone to talk between us.

"Are you okay?" I asked, sitting on the bed next to him.

"Not sure."

I didn't press any more than that. I assumed he would talk to me when he was ready. If he would ever be. I wasn't sure if his role in getting rid of the mutt was what was on his mind, but I had a feeling it had been a very different experience than anything else he had had to do to date.

Instead of coaxing for a better explanation, I moved closer to Derek and put my hand in his. When he squeezed my hand, I knew things would be okay. I rested my head on the side of his arm.

He turned so that he was facing me. His lips brushed mine. Slowly, I eased backwards onto the bed as he moved his body to follow mine. And as we kissed, I forgot about my curiosity.

When I woke up, Derek was breathing deeply and evenly next to me.

How long had I slept?

Judging by the clock on the bedside table, a good six hours had passed. Huh. Guess I had needed the sleep.

I turned so that I was facing Derek, and indulged my slightly stalkerish tendencies by watching him sleep. I couldn't keep a small grin from forming on my face. Bubbly feelings filled me and I wanted to lean over and kiss him. My lips brushed his cheek.

He shifted and I knew he was instantly alert. "You awake?" I heard him whisper.

"Yeah. Did I wake you?"

"Not really. Strange place, you know?"

"I remember."

Both of us had trouble sleeping when we were on the run. But to try and tell yourself that you were safe now, that was a different story.

"It's early still."

"Yeah." I rested on Derek's chest, feeling his warm skin on my cheek. I loved this. Absolutely adored it. If Tori were here, she'd smack me or fling a mini-fireball at me and tell me to stop being so sappy. I was so glad she wasn't here.

As Derek's hand rubbed slow circles on my arm, I drifted back off to sleep.

When I woke up for the second time, Derek was nowhere to be seen. As I rolled over, a crinkle sounded beneath me. It was a note and it left a smile on my lips.

_Gone downstairs to eat. Come down when you wake up._

As love notes go, it was a little lacking but I had to chuckle. Of course Derek would be thinking with his stomach. I got out of bed and put on some shorts and a sweater; I didn't want to go downstairs in my pjs.

Derek wasn't in the kitchen, but there was a plate of pancakes left there for me. I ate quickly, wondering were Derek was.

Suddenly, a voice behind me exclaimed, "You must be Chloe!"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey there all! So here's the last chapter of this segment, but never fear, Briee and I have had too much fun with this to end it now! We can't promise a chapter for next week (although I'll do my best!) because we'd like to take some time to map out where we're taking the next part so we don't end up with a stalled story, but it'll definitely be ready to rock and roll soon after that. We might also be changing the rating of this story, so just please be fore-warned that the next series of chapters will have a little more lemony goodness than the first few. :) Anyways, enjoy, thanks to all those who have reviewed, you have quite literally made my day (and Briee's) more than once. You guys rock. Period.**

**Extra note: I know that some people might find Jaime a little OOC, but I liked her deeper, more compassionate side that we got to see in No Humans Involved, so I based her more on that than on the more air-headed character we see in the other books. Just a comment :)  
**

Disclaimer: We're not Kelley Armstrong, these characters belong to her and not us and neither of us makes any money off of this. :)

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Meeting Jaime Vegas was nothing like how I'd pictured it. I'd caught a few minutes of one of her shows a few years back, I'm sure most people have seen her at some point or another. I had thought she'd be taller, but her red hair and lean curves were exactly as they had been when she'd been on stage, "communing with the spirit world". Back then I'd dismissed her as a nutjob and her show as a crock, but considering I could now lasso a spirit, drag him back into his body and command him to kill my friend's mother, I'm a lot more careful about using words like "crazy" and "impossible".

"You must be Chloe," she said behind me, and I turned, a sudden wave of anxiety cramping my stomach. My brain started babbling. What if she didn't believe me, what if she was like Margaret, what if, what if, what if. While I descended into my mini-breakdown, she beamed a mega-watt smile at me and extended a manicured hand.

"It's nice to meet you."

Mechanically, I took her hand, surprised at her firm grip. She might come off as an airhead on t.v. (well, that and Clay had made a few comments that made me wonder…) but behind her Hollywood-bright caps, her eyes were warm and friendly as she squeezed my hand once more before letting go. "Do you want a cup of tea?"

I blinked, suddenly realizing I had been staring suspiciously at her since she'd come in without saying a single word. Dear god, I was turning into Derek. "Um, sure. Thank you."

Jaime bustled around the kitchen, clearly familiar with the layout as she got water boiling, pulled out mugs and spoons and hooked the sugar bowl with an easy grace as she came back to the table. She even knew where to find a little creamer to hold the milk, which made me wonder what exactly her relationship with the werewolves was like. You don't know where to find a creamer in a strange house.

A wild shriek from outside startled me, but Jaime just smiled as she retrieved the kettle and some tea bags, easing into the chair across from me with a feline grace that I envied.

"Don't worry, that's just Kate."

"Is she ok?" As I asked, another outraged howl followed the first.

"She's fine. Clay probably told her it's nap time."

A different voice raised up in protest.

"And that's Logan," she chuckled as Clay let out a yelp.

"Ouch! Kate, no biting!"

I hid a grin. Clay as a dad. Now that was a role I wouldn't have ever pictured him in. My tea steeped while I puzzled over the relationships between all the people in this house. Only when I pulled the tea bag out of the mug did I realize that Jaime wasn't bombarding me with questions. She had fixed her own mug and was waiting for me to finish while eyeing the sugar bowl contemplatively. Finally, sighing, she dropped a sugar cube into her mug and stirred.

"I know this must be difficult for you," she said softly, "not knowing what you were for so long. Why don't you start with the easy stuff? Tell me a little about yourself."

_She's good_, I thought. _No wonder grieving people spill their guts to her_.

"Hmm." Good start, Chloe. Very helpful. "I'll be seventeen next spring," I began. "I was at school when I got chased by a…well, a melted custodian."

Jaime's eyes narrowed as she sighed in disgust. "I _hate_ when they do that."

I didn't understand what she meant, but I plowed ahead. "Derek and I, and the rest of our friends, we're part of an experiment. They were trying to make things easier on us, but a couple of us ended up with-" a pause as I searched for words.

"Super powers?" she supplied, calmly sipping her tea.

"Pretty much. But part of the experiment was that we couldn't know."

"Hmm."

When she didn't say anything else, I figured I was supposed to keep going. "So when I got chased by the melted guy, they told me I was schizophrenic, medicated me and stuck me in a lab-run group home with the others."

"How did you figure out what you are? You have to admit, it's not exactly the first conclusion you'd jump to," she said with a wry smile.

"No kidding. Derek actually told me." The memory made me smile. "I thought they needed to up his meds."

We shared a quick chuckle.

"Long story short, we got away and met up with Derek's dad and my aunt and we've spent the last year or so tracking down all the other kids in the experiments and letting them know what happened. In all that time, I haven't met a single other necromancer other than a lady named Margaret." I swallowed a gulp of tea, hoping the bergamot in the Earl Grey would wash away the bitter taste in my mouth. "She thought I was lying about what I can do."

"What can you do, Chloe?"

Jaime's hushed tone matched my own and I realized we were both leaning towards each other over the table. With an effort, I met her gaze, bracing for the horror I'd see there. "I can raise the dead without rituals. I call them and they come."

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph," she whispered, eyes wide. I dropped mine to the table, furious with myself for hoping she'd understand. Hell, furious for hoping, period. My knuckles were white around my mug.

Her mug clinked as it hit the table and her chair scraped back with a sound that made the hairs on my arms rise. I shouldn't be disappointed; I would run, too.

Warm arms came around me and pulled me to my feet in a tight hug. "You poor kid." She squeezed me tighter as my astonishment faded and tears pricked my eyes. "There'd better be a special place in a hell dimension for the bastards that did this to you."

"If that's where they're supposed to go, then they're there already. They're all dead." I remembered the blasted laboratory we'd found, the mangled bodies and my voice shook.

She pulled back a little and held me by the shoulders. "I'm so glad we met."

"Me, too," I managed to gasp as she hugged the breath out of me again, my body flooded with the same relief I'd felt when I'd gotten Aunt Lauren back safely.

When she finally let go, we both took a moment to compose ourselves, laughing shakily as we used up most of the table's supply of napkins.

"Damn, my mascara," Jaime muttered, looking like a raccoon until she gave up and swabbed all the make-up off her face. Without it, she looked older, but better. She looked approachable, especially when she pulled the pins out of her hair and tied it back in a ponytail.

"Well," she said briskly, "why don't we take a walk and see if we can find a quiet spot and I'll tell you what I know."

I felt odd reminding someone about this, but I tried to be as casual as possible. "Are there, um, bodies?"

She put the mugs in the sink and nodded. "There are some, but I've done some protective rituals so they won't be woken. We're safe here, the worst you'll raise is probably a deer or something, nothing we can't handle." We. A simple word, but it could bring such immeasurable relief.

Something odd bloomed next to the relief, though, and as I run upstairs with a light heart to grab a jacket, I realized it was hope. For the first time since a melted custodian had chased me down the halls of my school, I felt hope. I grinned. I was finally learning about my powers with someone I trusted and Derek was being looked after by the best werewolves we could have had the luck to run into. It was going to be a good day.


	11. A good AN, don't worry!

**A/N: Hey there all our lovely, patient readers! **

**So Briee and I haven't forgotten about you, but we did need to take a little break, seeing as how we successfully completed our projected ten chapters. But never fear, we are definitely continuing this story, but under another name, Love You to Death, and it will be M-rated. We're going to let Chloe and Derek's relationship start moving forward in the physical sense, and the danger/violence that they'll encounter might get a little bloody for the T-rating we had before. We're projecting ten chapters, the same as before, with us more or less alternating chapters. We'll begin posting this Sunday and hopefully all, or at least most, of you will be there to read and review and offer your amazing support. Thanks so much for sticking with us, and thanks to the few of you who PM'd and gave us that kick in the butt we needed to get serious with this second instalment. You guys rock. See you Sunday!**

**Lots of love,**

Briee and bodyandsoul :)


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